Canon PowerShot S230 : ELPHs in the Competitive Digital Wilderness! (Minor Updates)
Written: Oct 21 '02 (Updated Oct 23 '02)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
| Durability: |
|
|
| Battery Life: |
 |
|
| Photo Quality: |
|
|
|
Pros: Small Size, 3.2 MegaPixels!, metal body, minor tweaks from S200
Cons: 2x Optical Zoom, Weak Flash, So-So Battery Life
The Bottom Line: With several minor improvements and one major improvement over the 6 month old S200, the S230 gives more megapixels in a stylish body with some advanced functions.
|
|
|
| yusakugo's Full Review: Canon PowerShot S230 / IXUS v³ Digital Camera |
It's only been a few months since the release of the S200 and S330 cameras... Nikon also began to offersome serious competition with the CoolPiz 3500 and the other companies released several models to battle in the mid-range and portable market. Heck, it has only been 6 months since the release of the S200 and S330. Now the S230 has been released featuring for the most part... all of the features of the previous S200 with minor tweaks but also an improved resolution of 3.2 MegaPixels! Geez Louise! One of the most popular digital cameras released just became a whole lot better!
The Short Take
The increase from 2 to 3 MegaPixels is actually quite significant if you want to print photos greater than 4x6 and 5x7... even at 5x7 you should notice clearer details in the S230 photos over previous models (S100, S110, S200, S300, and S330). The S230 also has minor little tweaks over the S200 model but is overall similar to the S200.
Since the base of the S230 is the slightly older S200... the S230 has just about all of the strengths of the S200. Compact size, excellent picture quality, easy to use nagivation system for the menu, limited manual exposure settings, and direct print capability are some of the major highlights of the S230 model. On top of that, add the new 3.2 MegaPixel (MP) resolution and you have plenty of alluring reasons to get this particular camera. The image quality and color reproduction of the s230 rivals most other 3 MP cameras and even some 4 MP cameras available today!
However, many of the S200 shortcomings are apparent in the S230 model. The ho-hum flash, the short battery life (it is slightly worse than the S200), 2x optical zoom only (which may be enough for some...), and lack of ability to accept and other attachments/accessories.
The s230 carries a $399 price tag as well... at least $100 more than the price of a new S200. The problem is... whether you need the extra 1.2 MegaPixels? Having more megapixels will help with photo details provided you print in sizes above 5x7... if you don't do this, the extra MegaPixel really doesn't mean all that much. If you print 4x6 photos... the savings of a $100 and going with the 2 MegaPixel s200 may be a better idea. Better yet, if you print 4x6 photos mostly, paying $349 for the 3x optical zoom of the S330 may prove to be a better choice. Don't confuse having higher megapixels as being equal to having a better zoom ability. Digital cropping and enlargement of a 2x optical zoom 3 MegaPixel photo of a scene versus the 3x optical zoom 2 MegaPixel photo... the 3x optical zoom 2MP photo still looked better and preserved more details than the 2x optical zoom 3MP photo.
The main competition is Nikon's CoolPix 3500. I haven't used the CoolPix 2500 or 3500 but have heard ggod things about those series of cameras. I'm more familiar with the higher end offerings like the 4300, 4500, and 5000 series Nikons. Minolta, Sony, Olympus, Toshiba, Hewlett Packard, Kodak, and many more companies are also offering affordable mid-range cameras that compete favorably with the S230... but the size of the camera is what separates them from the S230. By size, the main competition is still the CoolPix 3500 and perhaps the Minolta 4MP F100 camera.
I got my s230 for $360 (10% discount) with S&H included and no taxes.
Pros:
1) Compact Size
2) 3.2 Megapixel Camera!
3) 2x Optical Zoom, 3.2x Digital Zoom
4) CompactFlash media with High Speed CompactFlash support.
5) Improved Movie Record Mode (up to 3 minutes with High Speed CompactFlash card)
6) 9 point AiAF system (Artificial Intelligence AutoFocus) (S200 has 3 point AiAF system)
7) DIGIC processor (specialized processor made by Canon specifically for digital cameras... supposedly improves camera photo quality)
8) iSAPS (Intelligent Scene Analysis based on Photographic Space) for improved camera focus and white balancing.
9) Direct printing to DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) compatible printers.
10) Accepts the original Lithium-Ion batteries of the S110 and S300 cameras... although these batteries provide less power to the S230.
11) Adjustable ISO settings from 50 to 400
12) Self-Timer from 2 or 10 secs
13) Continuous Shooting mode
14) Stainless Steel Casing.
Cons:
1) Only 2x Optical Zoom
2) Short Battery Life
3) Flash a bit weak
4) Additional Batteries are Expensive
5) Tripod mounting now on far left side of camera (you are looking at the back of the camera
6) Minimal Accessories available for the camera
What do you want to know about the S230?
In some ways, you could almost post the S200 review here... the S230 didn't not change add any size or bulk to the camera... in fact, the same body was used for both cameras. So the s230 still has dimensions of 3.4 x 2.2 x 1.1 inches and weighs 6.7 oz with the CompactFlash (CF) card and battery installed. The camera has a solid feel just like the previous models in the digital ELPH lineup. Note that the s230 body is made of high impact polycarbonate plastic with a fairly thick exterior shell of aluminum or steel. The USB and A?V ports are still covered by a rubber strip and the CF slot covered by just the PCP casing without the metal plating that has a dull look versus the rest of the S230 body. The lens retracts into the body when the camera is off... otherwise, there is a short startup time when you power up the camera as well as shutdown time. The S230 maintains the same 1.5 inch LCD screen of the previous models. The layout of the camera is the same as the S200 model.
Operation... It is easy to use and handle?
Like the other Digital ELPH series cameras, the S230 was meant to be a point and shoot type camera. In Auto mode, the camera handles most of the exposure controls very well. Pictures and color saturation of the photos are very good. The nine point AiAF allows you to takes photos with excellent contrast with almost no effort on your part. Note the 9 point AiAF system does slow down the recycling time of the camera... the S100/S110 had a decent recycle time... the S200 had a longer recycle time than the S100/110 but is still faster than the S230. The recycle time is the time the camera needs to recover between shots unless the camera is in continuous mode. You can drastically reduce the recycling time by turning off the 9 point AiAF system... but realize that the pictures may not be as clear since the camera will adjust the focus to whatever is in the dead center of the viewfinder (you can do this with the S200 and S330 as well). You should adjust to the situation... note that even on continuous shoot mode, keeping the 9 point AiAF system on will still lead to an initial delay in taking the first shot. Don't worry... if you feel creative, you can play with some of the limited manual exposure settings... but I'll get to that later.
The top of the camera houses the power button, the large shutter button, and a zoom controls (a switch that encircles the shutter button). The front of the camera has the lens (slightly off center), viewfinder, flash, the focus assist illuminator, and the tiny hole for the microphone. The right side of the camera houses the cover for the CF slot and the wrist strap attachment (highly recommended to put that on your camera since the front of the camera is almost completely smooth. The left of the camera houses the rubber cover that grants access to the USB and A/V port. The bottom of the camera has the battery access slot and the tripod mount which is now to the extreme left side of the camera (when looking at the back of the camera)... a bit disappointing to see that since the tripod mount on the S30 and S40 were right under the lens for easier stitch photo shooting.
Now the back of the camera... in addition to the 1.5 inch color LCD and the viewfinder and the switch to open the CF door, you have the switch to select between playback, movie, and record/photo mode. Under the LCD are four buttons which are the Set, Menu, Display, and Exposure Compensation/White Balance/Photo Effects buttons. Just right of the LCD is four more buttons for navigating menus and scrolling through pictures as well as a few secondary functions. These four buttons are set up like a four direction pad. The secondary options here include spot metering, macro/infinity, flash, and continuous/self-timer mode.
A big note would be the continuous shoot mode... with the LCD you get a slow shot per second rate, but turn off the LCD, the rate at least doubles. The rate with LCD off approaches 2.5 shots per sec on certain resolutions! The continuous shoot mode allows the user to take several consecutive photos when holding down the shutter button. Note that the continuous shoot mode is slower than the S200 even with the LCD turned off! Second note, if you turn off the laser guided autofocus system (i.e. 9 point AiAF system), the continuous shoot mode is faster than the S200/S330 continuous shoot mode with the 3 point AiAF on.
The menu system on the S230 is similar to the S200 (at least I didn't notice any differences). Press the menu button and your the four direction keys to select the specific option. The mode dial selects whether the camera is in automatic, manual exposure, movie, and playback modes so the menu that comes up is specific for each mode. This makes the menu so much simpler!
Movie Mode
You'll note a much clearer picture in Movie mode versus the older Digital ELPH cameras plus a bonus with the S230. If you use a High Speed CF card in the S230, you can record up to 3 minutes of JPEG video in 160x120 and 320x240 resolutions. 640x480 resolution video is still 30 seconds only. All videos of any resolution are recorded at 15 frames per second. The increased clarity, detail, and length of the movies is a welcome addition to the S230.
Photo Details
3.2 MP does make a difference when you need to print those 8x10 photos... details are maintained well. Color reproduction and saturation are also good if not a bit subdued over the S200 model. The bright primary colors don't stand out as much as they did on other models. However, flesh tones and shadowing seemed much finer and I was more pleased with these results. Photos up to 8.5x11 looked great. However, like the other Digital ELPHs, the flash is still rather weak. It is totally inadequate for medium to long distance nighttime and low and even medium light shots. This is a weakness shared by the entire Digital ELPH camera line!
With the 3 MP limit, there is a slight change to the compression and resolution choices. The same three compression modes are still available... Normal (best compression but worst picture), Fine, and SuperFine (worse compression but best picture). There are now 4 resolution choices... Small (640x480), Medium 1 (1024x768), Medium 2 (1600x1200 S200 maximum), and Large (2048x1536). Using Large and SuperFine settings obtains gorgeous photos but at a file size of 1.5 MB up to 3MB per shot!
What's in the package
Canon has always included excellent manuals and documentation for the camera and software included in all their camera packages. The S230 continues this tradition. A good sized camera and software manual is included detailing basic and advanced functions for the camera. A wrist strap is included in the package as well as an updated Lithium-Ion battery compared to the S110 (so the same battery used in the S200 and S330). The NB-1LH carries 840 mAh versus the much older NB-1L which had a 680 mAh capacity. The battery charger is also included in the package. You can use the older NB-1L batteries in the S230 but expect a much shorter battery life. You get a 16 MB High Speed CF card (hey better than the old 8MB)... so you need to purchase a bigger one, at least 256MB in my opinion. Two CDs are included with the software for the camera.
I would definitely recommend buying a larger CF card, an additional battery, and a small camera carry case. The AC adapter kit might be helpful too although not necessary (but if you plan on printing directly from the camera to the supported Canon printers (CP-10, CP-100, S820D, S830D, and S530D are currently supported) I would get the AC adapter!). I would highly consider at least a seperate CF reader so you don't have to drain the batteries on the camera transferring images to the computer.
Battery Life
The overall battery life is a bit shorter than the S200 although not by much. With the display turned on and all the automatic features enabled, you might get maximum 150 shots per fully charged battery. However, if you have the LCD display turned off, you can take nearly 400 shots! Using the older NB-1L battery cuts the numbers down by nearly 25-30%! So you get 100 shots with the LCD on and 250 or so shots with the LCD off. The NB-1LH battery runs at least $40 and usually in the $50-60 range.
More Details
Hopefully full ultra detailed reviews come up on these two sites:
www.imaging-resource.com
www.dpreview.com
neither site has a review on the S230 as of yet.
Final Thoughts
I still haven't found the perfect camera yet... but several cameras provide solutions that come quite close. The S230 is one of them. I would prefer at least a 3x optical zoom and a way to use an external flash... but otherwise, this is a great camera. You must balance whether you want to spend the additional money for the megapixels however... If you print mostly or only 4x6 photos, the 3 MP camera isn't worth it... go for a 2 MP camera (like the S200) and/or one with a better zoom (like the S330)!
Check out my profile page for more reviews on computer and electronics. Additional Camera reviews by me can be accessed from the menu system on my profile page!
Thanks for reading!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 360
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
yusakugo
|
 - Top 10 |
|
Member: Rich Go
Location: Somewhere in the NorthEast
Reviews written: 399
Trusted by: 498 members
About Me:
Losing Sleep and Lacking Time... sigh...
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.